Sa'al
Sa'al, known formally as the Dor Sa'al Ash-Shandi, is a Kaldorei fringe religious movement associated with an international militant extremist sect of the Cult of Elune. Followers of Sa'al do not make the distinction between their religion and mainline belief systems of their people. The religion as a whole has been deemed illegal by the government of Darnassus, and is considered an organized terrorist group by the Grand Alliance. The group has major ideological differences from the Cult of Elune, including a hostile disposition towards non-Kaldorei. Chief among their unique philosophies is their belief in patriarchy as a system of social governance. The Highborne Empire was once ruled almost exclusively by male lords and generals, and Sa'alites believe that men are more suited to reign. The Sa'alites go one step further and claim that Nature itself favors a patriarchal system, having given male Kaldorei greater strength and physical prowess. This is a contrast to the egalitarian gender beliefs that guide Kaldorei society at large, where male and female Night Elves are considered equals. Sa'alites also hold true that Elune is the one and only God of Azeroth, with no peers or equals, and that Elune is wholly responsible for creating and sustaining the world. They oppose the deification of Cenarius, Malorne, and creation stories which involve Malorne and Elune as mates. Likewise, they reject the divinity of the Holy Light, claiming that the Light is actually Arcane energies utilized by Paladins and Priests to deceive unwitting apostates. Founding The Sa'alite movement was born of the culture clash following the Third War, when the Kaldorei first encountered Humankind and the Eastern Kingdoms. Before this time, most Kaldorei organizations were xenophobic and isolationist as a general policy, so there was no need for a reactionary extremist movement within Kaldorei society at large. When the Kaldorei joined the Grand Alliance, the political isolation that Night Elven society had thrived under for ten thousand years was shattered. Radical groups of various denominations began to rise in Kalimdor, opposing the new allegiance between the Alliance and the Night Elves. The Dor Sa'al Ash-Shandi was created when a young Priestess named Maevora Shal'ivi was expelled from the Sisters of Elune. Maevora was victim to a series of nightmares and waking visions that urged her to seek an audience with Tyrande Whisperwind and encourage the Priestess of the Moon to withdraw the Kaldorei from the Alliance. Maevora was cast out of the Temple of the Moon, and her status as a Priestess was revoked. Dejected and angry, she assembled a considerable following of male Kaldorei Priests who had also been rejected from the order, due to their gender. Because she was still practically a child, she elected a triumvirate of trusted advisors and generals to rule over her newly-founded organization. Roots of Hatred Maevora Shal'ivi, the leader of the Sa'alite movement, was determined to see her order prosper. At the behest of her advisors, she decided to relocate the base of her order's operations to the Eastern Kingdoms. They had made far too many enemies in Kalimdor, and foreign lands held great promise. Stormwind City had drawn thousands of Kaldorei immigrants looking to find new work and adventure in the land of Humankind. A sizable number of Night Elves now also lived in the port city of Theramore, which served as the gateway to the Eastern Kingdoms after the Colonization of Kalimdor. Maevora and her officers met with local Kaldorei community leaders in Theramore, inspiring them with their vision for a great migration of Kaldorei to the east. At this time, the Sa'alite movement was a benign religious order of Kaldorei pilgrims who wished to establish their traditions in the faraway lands of the Grand Alliance. A Kaldorei criminal group known as the Tears of the Goddess joined forces with the Sa'alites, lending muscle to an organization primarily comprised of Priests and pilgrims. The Tears of the Goddess started as a Kaldorei smuggling group in Theramore, violently competing with similar human criminal organizations. Maevora Shal'ivi rapidly radicalized the Tears of the Goddess, turning them into the military wing of her religious movement. Word had reached the Sa'alites of the dismal living conditions of Kaldorei immigrants in the Kingdom of Stormwind, and the group cemented a plan to sail east and populate Stormwind City, spreading their message of Kaldorei supremacy to downtrodden and forlorn Night Elves who lost their cultural identity. Rising Tensions With the Sa'alite movement in full swing, Stormwind City's Night Elven population was influenced by the message of Sa'al. The Sa'alites accomplished this by appealing to Kaldorei elders and influential members of the immigrant community in Stormwind, encouraging them to join their military revolt against the Grand Alliance. Rising tensions in Stormwind between Kaldorei radicalist groups and local law enforcement culminated in violent, terroristic attacks on officials from the Church of the Holy Light, Stormwind Guard, and even the Stormwind Census. Pro-Alliance Kaldorei groups reinforced their strong stance against racial violence, denouncing the Sa'alites and their message. The Death of Maevora The SI:7 led several string operations that crippled the organization, arresting many members of the Sa'alite movement and taking them in for questioning in black prisons. Ashamal Shalah'aman was one such prisoner, and he cooperated with Stormwind's government, giving them critical information on the activities and plans of the Sa'alite group. It was Ashamal Shalah'aman who assassinated Maevora Shal'ivi, the leader of the Sa'alite movement, along with several of her lieutenants. As a reward for his loyalty, Ashamal was acquitted of all charges of conspiracy against the Kingdom of Stormwind, and was welcomed into the Stormwind Navy as part of an officer training program. The Second Pariah Anvidar Hallowbark was the only lieutenant of the Sa'alite movement who survived the assassination attempt by the SI:7 and Ashamal Shalah'aman. Leadership fell upon Anvidar, who took up the mantle of the Pariah, leading the followers of the sect back to Kalimdor . Having made a myriad of enemies both in the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor alike, the Sa'alite movement assumed much lower profile operations. They moved quickly and quietly from station to station across Ashenvale, establishing small outposts and hidden bases in caverns and groves. The Sa'alite leadership made the decision that the identities of all members of the insurgency would be concealed. All Sa'alite devotees would wear hoods or masks during meetings and ceremonies, and were required to keep their identities secret from their fellow brothers and sisters. Anvidar Hallowbark wore a silvery mask and crown, distinguishing himself from his followers, who donned robes of white. Intelligence Operations After the imprisonment of Fandral Staghelm, the Sa'alites welcomed an increasing number of new Druidic disciples who were in opposition of the government of Tyrande Whisperwind. Anvidar focused the order on a new agenda: the destruction of the current regime of Darnassus. Several assassination plots against the Priestess of the Moon were planned, but all failed utterly. The Watchers learned of the activity of the Sa'alite order by capturing members of the organization and interrogating them in the Barrow Dens of Darnassus. With this information, the Wardens began an offensive campaign against Anvidar's Sa'alite movement. Several Watchers were killed after their true identities were compromised by information obtained by the Sa'alites, which encouraged the government of Darnassus to hunt the insurgents more furiously than before. Anvidar Hallowbark was killed on a summer evening in Ashenvale by the Silverwing Sentinels, who acted on secret information received by co-operating SI:7 forces. Anvidar's location had been a carefully-guarded secret, but one of his allies was aware of his current position, and leaked the allegedly leaked the information to the Kingdom of Stormwind in order to settle a personal dispute with Hallowbark. Present Times The current operational capacity of the Sa'alite movement is not known. After the death of Anvidar Hallowbark, it retreated into the shadows of Kalimdor. Today, there are occassional clues to continued activites of the order, but without charismatic and able leadership, the organization appears to only persist as a minor threat. In 35 L.C., a string of violent crimes throughout Stormwind City were initially connected to the Sa'alites, but further investigations failed to establish a link between the assaults and the cult itself. The perpetrators hosted political demonstrations in primarily Kaldorei neighborhoods in the city and instigated attacks on non-elves. Category:Night Elf Organizations Category:Organizations Category:Religion Category:Criminal Organizations Category:Religious Organizations Category:Terrorist Organizations Category:Elunite Faith Category:Monotheistic Organizations Category:Dor Sa'al Ash-Shandi Category:War of the Night Sky